the
sustainability or “greenness” of leather has always been a contentious
issue. to those who are vegan —
probably for most vegetarians too —there’s an insurmountable moral
aspect to leather, whereas for those who willingly eat meat, the production
of leather is an important secondary industry correlated to that of meat
production whereby the main by-product is reused and converted into a new,
higher-value product

rubber backing

the
rubber backing used, known as Insta-Lay, is manufactured from
recycled tyre-rubber and provides
excellent stability, as well as first-rate acoustic and cushioning
properties.
when pressure is released, the rubber-crumb granules swiftly return to their
original shape, neither collapsing nor degrading over time. unlike other
rubber products, the backing does not expand when warmed by under-floor heating or direct sunlight
can cause a rug to ripple or saucer

workshop recycling

all
scrap leather, rubber, plastic and cellophane generated by the workshop is
delivered to the Eco-Brick
Exchange where it is ingeniously recycled into the manufacture of
“bricks” used in constructing well-insulated dwellings for those in need of affordable housing

skills + training

in 2002 an unemployed
grandmother was trained in the semi-skilled art of hand-stitching. As
her workload increased, she, in turn, trained other unemployed relations and
today the family is in a position to provide for itself